Sodium: Can I counter excessive sodium with excessive water?

I do not know the actual answer for this question, but when I eat things with more sodium, I always drink a lot more water, and it seems to balance it.

If it's only an occasional day of extra sodium, it shouldn't matter long-term. Drinking a little extra water certainly won't hurt, but it is possible to drink too much water, so be careful. I'd drink if you're thirsty (salt tends to do this anyway), and don't worry about it too much.

I struggle with my sodium intake too. I either go under my calories or over my sodium. I am a very busy full-time working mom and convenience foods are my friend. On days I go over my sodium I drink more water and I have been losing!

You might try low-salt convenience foods, like raw veggies and fruit, unsalted nuts, unsalted (or low salt) nut butter, and low salt crackers. You can also pre-make things like soup when you have time and freeze it. Since canned soup tends to be really high in sodium, this can help a lot. Also, if you're using canned beans, rinsing them well may help with the salt content.

Potassium.

Look up the sodium-potassium balance.


You can't really 'flush out' your body. Shooting water through your kidneys isn't the same thing as unclogging a drain. Your body does the actual scrubbing/cleaning. Overloading your organs with excess water is not a solution.

Yes, potassium. High potassium cancels out high sodium.

Some interesting reading for you, regarding the sodium-potassium balance:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/salt/sodium-potassium-balance/index.html
http://www.theheart.org/article/1252097.do

Seems like you can balance the sodium with potassium and get good results as well.
There's more info out there; these were the two I could find quickly, without all the "gee-whiz" newsy stuff..

So potassium... is it safe to take actual potassium pills if my sodium is too high to counteract it? I don't think I get an abundance of potassium in my diet (not a fan of the caloric trade off for bananas and I don't "crave" them as a food).

So potassium... is it safe to take actual potassium pills if my sodium is too high to counteract it? I don't think I get an abundance of potassium in my diet (not a fan of the caloric trade off for bananas and I don't "crave" them as a food).

Are pills ever as good as fresh sources?

There are plenty of high potassium foods around. Most people don't bother to add potassium when they enter food here, which is a damn shame.

Chicken, beets, raisins (Though high in calories.) to name a few.

I was surprised to learn how much potassium is in coffee-- that's probably not the healthiest way to get it but I thought it was interesting.

no you will just retain more water !

Not true. The more water you drink the more it helps with water retention.

So potassium... is it safe to take actual potassium pills if my sodium is too high to counteract it? I don't think I get an abundance of potassium in my diet (not a fan of the caloric trade off for bananas and I don't "crave" them as a food).

Are pills ever as good as fresh sources?

There are plenty of high potassium foods around. Most people don't bother to add potassium when they enter food here, which is a damn shame.

Chicken, beets, raisins (Though high in calories.) to name a few.

Bananas, potatoes, cantaloupe, avocado

Potassium.

Look up the sodium-potassium balance.

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I don't know where people get this "flushing sodium with water" thing.

My thought was that since sodium is water soluble that water intake might help remove it from the kidneys. I have been a food scientist for nearly 20 years, but I am not a nutritionist. I am also not an idiot, but thanks for making me feel like one. At least I was smart enough to ask. Not all of us are as well informed (or arrogant) as you.

You go girl!

I am three weeks into my new lifestyle and doing well. When I started, I focused on hitting my daily calorie target. Now I am trying to hit my macros as well. If I go over on sodium, can I counter it by drinking extra water to "flush out" the sodium? I am not looking to do this as a regular practice, just on the rare day that I might exceed my sodium target. Thanks in advance for your input!

On occasion, yes, but like you said, if you see yourself going over in sodium all the time, you might want to cut back on the sodium intake.

The extra water might not flush it all out, but it might help ease some of the water retention symptoms.